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 In Thailand and India, the US is concerned about the overall protection accorded pharmaceuticals and other patent provisions. Effective copyright enforcement is a special concern in Thailand. The US investigated these issues with Thailand and India last year and will vigorously pursue them without initiating new investigations under special 301. 

After identifying a trading partner as a priority foreign country, USTR must decide within 30 days whether to initiate a section 301 investigation of "the acts, policies and practices" that are the basis of the identification. If the issues under investigation are not resolved after a six-month or, in certain circumstances, nine-month period, the USTR must decide whether the acts, policies, and practices are actionable and whether to take trade action under section 301. The USTR may identify a trading partner as a priority foreign country at any time that the facts warrant, or may revoke a trading partner's identification at any time.

Hills also announced that six trading partners, Egypt, Hungary, Korea, the Philippines, Poland and Turkey, have been placed on the special 301 priority watch list. Australia, Brazil and the EC remain on that list.

"We need to see significant progress in addressing deficiencies in intellectual property protection or market access in those countries," Hills said. "With each, we want to continue working to improve the situation, before further action becomes warranted under our trade laws."

Twenty-two trading partners have been placed on the special 301 watch list, according to Hills. They include: Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Persistent problems must be addressed in the near term in these countries.

"We must note some progress as we place a number of countries on the special 301 watch list this year," Hills said. "I commend the leaders of Colombia and Venezuela for advocating improvements in patent protection in the Andean Pact. While these improvements mark a step forward, the patent laws of Andean Pact members, including Colombia and Venezuela, continue to have serious deficiencies."

Hills noted that the Government of El Salvador has proposed legislation aimed at improving intellectual property protection. Those proposals have a number of deficiencies and have not yet been enacted and implemented.